I’ve been collecting some really useful development articles that I keep coming back to. Here’s a curated list of resources that have helped me level up my coding skills – from Laravel best practices to design patterns and JavaScript tricks.
Form Request Validation in Laravel: Step-by-step Implementation
https://dev.to/rodolfovmartins/form-request-validation-in-laravel-step-by-step-implementation-40a9
This is an excellent step-by-step guide on implementing Form Request Validation in Laravel. Instead of cluttering your controllers with validation logic, this article shows you how to move it into dedicated form request classes. It’s a game-changer for keeping your code clean and maintainable. The tutorial covers everything from creating form requests to customizing error messages, making validation much more organized.
A Beginner’s Guide to the Strategy Design Pattern
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/a-beginners-guide-to-the-strategy-design-pattern/
Design patterns can seem intimidating, but this FreeCodeCamp guide breaks down the Strategy Pattern beautifully. It’s a behavioral pattern that lets you swap algorithms at runtime instead of hard-coding them. The article includes real-world examples like payment processing systems and explains how this pattern promotes cleaner, more flexible code while following SOLID principles. Great read whether you’re new to patterns or need a refresher.
Write a Lexer in PHP with Lexical
https://ryangjchandler.co.uk/posts/write-a-lexer-in-php-with-lexical
Ryan Chandler introduces his Lexical package for building regular expression-based lexers in PHP. If you’ve ever wanted to build a parser or work with text processing, this is a fantastic resource. The tutorial walks through creating a simple mathematical expression lexer, handling whitespace, error management, and even creating custom token objects. It’s surprisingly approachable for what sounds like an advanced topic.
Save 1.2 Million Queries Per Day with Laravel Eager Loading
https://devdojo.com/inspector/save-12-million-queries-per-day-with-laravel-eager-loading
This article is a real eye-opener about the N+1 query problem in Laravel. The author shares how a simple mistake – using the method syntax instead of the property syntax for relationships – cost them 1.2 million unnecessary database queries per day. It’s a practical reminder of how eager loading with the with() method can dramatically improve performance. The before-and-after graphs really drive the point home.
Create Your Own Personal jQuery
https://gomakethings.com/create-your-own-personal-jquery/
Chris Ferdinandi shows how to build a tiny jQuery-like library using vanilla JavaScript classes. This is a fantastic learning exercise that demystifies what jQuery actually does under the hood. You’ll learn how to create chainable methods, handle DOM manipulation, and build a fluent API. Even if you don’t use jQuery anymore, understanding how to structure a library like this is incredibly valuable for any JavaScript developer.
These articles have all taught me something valuable, and I hope you find them as useful as I have. Happy coding!